Animals & Animal Facilities

I do not have an approved protocol yet, but want to get my animals. Can I?Generally the answer is no; animals may not be purchased from vendors or collected from the wild until you have an approved IACUC protocol. However, the IACUC may make exceptions in rare circumstances. if time is critical please contact the IACUC Chair or Office of Research Integrity for assistance.

Can non-UAF researchers (i.e. agency employees or collaborators) or teachers use the University's research animals or animal facilities? Yes. This is usually arranged through a Dean or Director and the animal facility supervisor. Everyone using UAF animals MUST do the following:

have a Research or Teaching Protocol approved by the UAF IACUC (no exceptions)

complete any training required by the IACUC, Veterinary Services and Animal Facility Manager

participate in the UAF Occupational Health & Safety Program, if required by the ORI.

How and when should I request space in the UAF Animal Facilities for my research animals?Contact the appropriate animal facility supervisor (contact information available on the Animal Resources page of this website) as early as possible in the planning process. For example, you should consult the animal facility supervisor when preparing your funding proposal to see if the appropriate caging/housing is available and what equipment or supply money you need to include in the proposal. The animal facility supervisor can also provide you with current per diem rates for the species you plan to use. Note: An approved IACUC Protocol does NOT guarantee space in the animal facilities.

I filed an IACUC Protocol but the staff in the animal facilities did not reserve an animal room for me. Why not? Protocol review by the IACUC is separate from arranging space and staff assistance in the Animal Facilities. You must contact the appropriate animal facility supervisor (contact information available on the Animal Resources page of this website) to arrange for animal rooms, use of existing equipment (i.e. cages, water bottles, etc.) and caretaker or technician assistance/support.

My project involves the use of animals at another institution's animal facility. I've obtained the necessary approvals for my work from the other institution. Do I need approval from the UAF IACUC as well? Yes. If you will be conducting the work as a UAF employee, in support of a student project or degree, or the work is funded through UAF you must obtain approval from the UAF IACUC. Depending on the nature of the work, funding, source of the animals, and registrations of the other institution the UAF IACUC will either require that you submit a full UAF IACUC Protocol application or may accept the forms you submitted to the other institution. Contact the Office of Research Integrity to find out which process you need to follow.

My project involves the use of captive animals housed at a facility that is not registered with the US Department of Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), is not accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International, and does not have an Assurance of Compliance with Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals on file with Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Can I conduct my research there? It depends... Absolutely no research may be conducted at a US facility if they are not in compliance with the AWA (please note that at this time some state run animal facilities holding captive wildlife are not required to be registered under the AWA). If registration under the AWA is not required, then the source of funding might influence your ability to conduct research at certain facilities. If your funding comes from the Public Health Service (e.g. NIH and CDC) or any agency that has adopted PHS Policy (e.g. NSF), then you can only spend funds for work conducted at an AAALAC accredited and/or PHS Assured facility in the US. Funding agencies typically allow exceptions for foreign sites if they will accept certain stipulations in the subaward or contract; contact the Office of Research Integrity if you need more information about working in animal facitlities outside the US.